The national government, through the joint work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ministries of Security, Defense, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, coordinates efforts to prevent, discourage and avoid illegal fishing in the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEEA) and take care of the natural resources that belong to all Argentines.
It is worth highlighting the approval of two fundamental laws for the defense of our sovereignty and our strategic resources, passed in 2020. On the one hand, the reform of the Federal Fishing Regime, which increases the fines for illegal fishing in the Argentine Sea, and on the other, the demarcation of the outer limit of the Argentine Continental Shelf, the result of uninterrupted work carried out for more than two decades by the Commission on the Outer Limit of the Continental Shelf (COPLA), dependent on the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The new fine regime is variable based on value units linked to the cost of fuel, with equivalent amounts ranging from 500 thousand to 3 million liters of diesel, according to the severity of the crime, with a minimum of 25 million pesos and a maximum of 150 million pesos, considering current market values.
In the case of foreign vessels, the applicable penalty is the highest since these are vessels that fish without permission from Argentina. Additionally, the enforcement authority may order the capture and retention of the foreign flag vessel in port until, after substantiation of the respective summary and payment of the fine. The new law allowed the capture of three vessels and the payment of fines of 250 million pesos that were already effective last year.
Thanks to this coordinated work by various State agencies, since the end of 2020 the Prefecture, through daily monitoring and control tasks, has identified 314 fishing vessels. Additionally, the Naval Prefecture complements the tasks of controlling illegal fishing with constant patrols on the border of the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone (mile 200), through Coast Guard type 24, assisted by air patrols and by the Maritime Traffic Service.
All these coordinated actions mean a substantive advance in the control and prevention of illegal fishing that may occur in the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone and are essential to avoid the over-exploitation of our strategic resources.
